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New master's in public health to be offered at Hershey

October 6, 2010

New master's in public health to be offered at Hershey

The Department of Public Health Sciences at Penn State College of Medicine is introducing a new master of public health (M.P.H.) graduate degree program for the fall 2011 semester. This 47-credit program will prepare students for careers in public health promotion and disease prevention, health administration and policy, and public health research.

The M.P.H program aims to advance theory and practice that measurably improve population health, reduce health disparities, and prepare future public health leaders – across Pennsylvania’s communities and beyond – through excellence in education, research and service.

Students of the program will build broad knowledge in five core public health areas: biostatistics, environmental health sciences, epidemiology, health services administration and social and behavioral sciences. In addition, students will specialize in health services organization and policy, population sciences or community and behavioral health.

The M.P.H. program is a unique collaboration between Penn State College of Medicine and Penn State’s University Park, Harrisburg and Great Valley campuses. While students can take all required courses at the College of Medicine in Hershey, several required courses and electives can be taken at the collaborating campuses. Classes primarily will be offered in the late afternoon or early evening. The deadline to submit applications for the fall 2011 semester is March 1, 2011.

“The new M.P.H. degree program is an important addition to Penn State’s health profession education programs, and advances the College of Medicine’s mission to improve the health and well-being of central Pennsylvanians,” said Harold L. Paz, chief executive officer, Penn State Hershey Medical Center, Penn State’s senior vice president for health affairs, and dean of the College of Medicine.

“The master of public health program will prepare students for today’s top public health problems and help curb the current public health workforce shortage,” said Roger Anderson, director of the program. “Our program fills a gap in the graduate-level public health education in central and south central Pennsylvania, ending the need to travel to Philadelphia or Pittsburgh for a comparable degree. We are also excited about our program because it will be one of only a few in the nation that includes a thematic emphasis on rural populations.”